New Discovery: Redwood trees have 2 types of leaves, and they do totally different things

Redwood trees have two types of leaves, one to make food and the other to absorb water, found a new study. It's the first study to estimate whole-crown water absorption in a large, mature tree. The findings can help scientists monitor redwoods' adaptability amid a changing climate and deepens our understanding of the resilience of these massive trees.

Read the full article here from ScienceDaily.com.

Photo by Stephen Leonardi

Let it Rain by landscape architect Jamie Purinton and Executive Director Marc Wolf

In this informative article—Let it Rain—landscape architect Jamie Purinton and Arboretum Executive Director Marc Wolf describe the process of designing and planting the system of rain gardens around the Education Center. Plant lists are included. We appreciate the Ecological Landscape Alliance giving us the opportunity to share this story!

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Emerald Bog: The Oldest Peat in the Catskills

In 1994, I had an idea. Workers in other regions were using macrofossils (needles, leaves, cones, twigs, wood, bark, roots, seeds, fruits, etc.) preserved in bog peat and/or lake sediments to reconstruct the vegetational history of their regions… Could I possibly do that in the Catskills?

Since 1995, I have studied 111 bogs. Previously, the oldest peat samples were from the bottoms of two Catskill bogs tied for first place at about 14150 years. That record held until 2016.

Update on Emerald Ash Borer

Healthy White Ash Trees at Mountain Top Arboretum

On June 14, 2016 our final group of white ash, Fraxinus americana, in the Woodland Walk was treated for emerald ash borer (EAB).

A team led by Cornell University Forest Entomologist Mark Whitmore, Vern Rist (Healthy Trees) and Phil Lewis (USDA, APHIS, Arborjet) injected fifty more ash trees with insecticide.  The insecticide travels through the phloem just beneath the outer layer of bark, killing EAB as it feeds. Ash is a wind pollinated tree and lacks nectaries so this injected treatment will not harm pollinators nor other insects besides EAB.

Forest Walking

Forest Walking
But in every walk with
Nature one receives
far more than he seeks.
~John Muir

In Japan it's called Shinrin-yoku, or Forest Bathing. Japanese studies show that quietly walking in a forest for as little as half an hour dramatically increases signs of relaxation, including lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate and lower blood pressure.

This season, take a walk in through the Arboretum. Stroll through the Woodland Walk, the East Meadow or Black Spruce Glen. Slowly walk, listen, bend down to touch the mosses, and breathe deeply.

Bees at the Arboretum

When most people think about bees, they immediately imagine the pain of being stung.

What they don’t think about is the critical role that bees play in nature, and the wonderful substances they create.  Honeybees are excellent pollinators and increase the production of whatever plants they can find near their hive.  Additionally, honeybees are used in agriculture to pollinate 40% of all the food we eat.